Sam Pierre’s insurgent candidacy to take out the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s favored candidate, Assemblywoman Roxanne Persaud, in the upcoming 19th Senatorial District special election took a blow today after the labor-backed Working Families Party failed to endorse anybody in the upcoming special election.
The WFP decision comes after both the WFP Brooklyn Chapter endorsed Pierre last week, and it was revealed in a New York Post story that he was convicted in 2014 on misdemeanor charges involving a scam of fleecing money from Haitians seeking immigration help while he was working for former Congressman Ed Towns.
“WFP will be not be endorsing a candidate in the upcoming special election in the 19th State Senate district. After intense deliberation, no candidate received the level of support necessary to secure our ballot line,” said WFP NYC Political Director Britney Whaley in an emailed statement. “We look forward to next year, when all candidates will again have an opportunity to demonstrate their strong commitment to progressive values during our endorsement process.”
The seemingly planted story by Brooklyn Democratic officials was countered by an equally seemingly planted Observer story painting Pierre as a young 23 when the incident happened, and that law still allows him to run for public office with a relatively small misdemeanor conviction on his record.
In speaking to the Observer, Pierre vowed to carry on his campaign despite not getting the WFP line on the ballot.
“I appreciate the opportunity to meet with the Working Families Party and their affiliates, and I sincerely appreciate the support of the Brooklyn chapter of the Working Families Party,” he told the Observer in a phone interview. “I look forward to seeking their nomination again next year.”
But the fatal political knockout punch may be that Pierre will not be able to run for any office until June 2019 – five years after his conviction.
According to state Public Officers Law § 3(1-a)(ii), being convicted of a misdemeanor does not bar someone from running for public office unless the conviction involves a breach of public trust. Since Pierre was working for Towns at the time, it could well be argued Pierre committed a breach of public trust.
It is this law that Kings County Democratic Party Law Chair Frank Carone will pursue in court. Should he be successful, it means that Pierre will also be unable to run for Persaud’s current assembly seat – or any other political office until June 2019 – in the likely event she wins the senate seat.
